Chief judge reaches out to lawyers over legal services crisis

Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Robert M. Bell has sent a letter to all Maryland lawyers about the funding crisis facing legal services for low-income people, the Daily Record reported yesterday. The crisis stems for a 70-percent drop in interest on lawyer trust accounts, which are a major source of funding for legal services organizations around the state, including Maryland Legal Aid.

“The latest missive from [Bell] to the more than 30,000 lawyers in Maryland highlights a decrease in legal services funding at a time when the need for such services is increasing and points out that lawyers can respond with contributions of time or ‘financial resources,’” the article said.

‘“Whether you choose one means or both, your contribution will make a meaningful difference in the lives of Maryland residents and will help preserve our justice system,’ Bell wrote in the letter, dated July 20 but still in the mail to many lawyers,” the report said.

Joseph also corrected the letter’s characterization that a continuing funding shortage would “likely require” Legal Aid to close some offices was inaccurate.

“Any diminution of services is not an option, and we don’t plan on closing any offices,” said Joseph, whose organization is the largest individual grantee of funding generated by interest on lawyer trust accounts. “We feel quite secure about our position for 2009, and with a little bit of luck we can make it through 2010.”

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Our Services

Services provided to low-income people include employment (getting illegally denied unemployment benefits and back pay and wages due), housing (preserving affordable housing, stopping illegal evictions from public and subsidized housing, advocating for the correction of substandard housing, preventing homelessness), income maintenance (helping those with disabilities avoid institutionalization, preserving or obtaining public benefits, overcoming denial of public benefits), juvenile (representing abused and neglected children), consumer (preventing foreclosure, helping homeowners bilked by foreclosure rescue scams, correcting credit ratings, stopping dept-collection activity, overcoming illegal or unfair sales contracts, avoiding utility terminations), health (helping sick children and the elderly get medical assistance, helping seniors get Medicaid assistance so they can live in their communities), family (making sure custodial parents don't lose custody of their children, helping abused women obtain custody, divorce and alimony), farmworkers (educating and representing farmworkers regarding their employment rights and educating service providers, government and the public about farmworkers' rights and needs), and education (helping children get special education services to which they are entitled, avoiding illegal or unfair school suspensions and obtaining correct school records).

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Some Stats…

In 2011, Maryland Legal Aid helped 70,000 of our neediest citizens with their civil legal needs at no charge to them. Due to funding limitations, we are able to help only 20 percent of those who are financially eligible for our services.